Kolkata: Swastika, a Bengali magazine that serves as a mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has argued in a recent article that the attacks on bookstalls set up by left parties during Durga Puja were a reflection of rage against left forces and a result of decades-long intimidation of “Hindu culture and Sanatan ideologies”, with the caveat that the use of force should not turn into an expression of arrogance.The article titled ‘Jasmin Deshe Jadachar’ (a Bengali equivalent of the proverb ‘When in Roman, do as the Romans do’), the author said “Sanatan ideologies” faced intimidation and attacks when the Left Front was in govt.It alleged Left Front supporters would often attack RSS shakhas when the left was in govt. “Those who launched attacks on left bookstalls may not be ideologically-driven. It was more of a reflection of rage against left forces,” it said.The article further claims that the subsequent 15 years of Trinamool govt saw a consolidation of Muslim votes and attacks on “Hindu culture”.“Left parties are playing the victim card by saying these were ‘attacks on books’. Many aren’t aware how Hindu society and Sanatani ideologies faced intimidation and attack during the 34 years (of Left govt),” it said.The article alleged that when the Left Front was in govt, it banned books that did not align with its philosophy. It claimed books of British political philosopher Isaiah Berlin, German political theorist Hannah Arendt and Australian philosopher Karl Popper were removed from the Calcutta University library.“They kept Harold Laski’s ‘Grammar of Politics’ at the library, but removed it when Laski shifted away from left ideologies,” the article said.
